Monday, 7 January 2013

As expected William and Kate have been keeping a low profile and we haven't had confirmation on any of the announcements we're awaiting. William's future plans with the RAF are still under wraps and as British Royals noted it is exactly five weeks since Kate's hospitalisation at King Edward VII hospital, suggesting the Duchess is now in her second trimester, meaning an announcement regarding Kate's due date cannot be far away.

British Royals Twitter

However, there are a number of interesting stories in the media about our favourite royal couple I'd like to share with you!

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While Kate is resting and (hopefully) recovering from hyperemeis gravidarum she has been helping her father-in-law plan a Valentine's Day meal for the Prince's Trust Ball. Chef Lorraine Pascale spoke to The Telegraph about Kate's input:

"I will be doing a tasting with Kate, which is very exciting. I'm sure with her help we'll be developing some beautiful dishes."

Lorraine has been busy designing petit fours and the main dish.

Wikipedia

It is well known the Duchess enjoys preparing home cooked meals at the cottage in Angelsey and is regularly spotted at local supermarkets shopping for groceries. I would love to see William and Kate attend the Prince's Trust Ball, however I'm sure William has something a little more private and romantic planned.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have employed their first orderly, a young Fijian-born corporal from the Parachute Regiment. His role will involve chauffering (below we see him driving Kate to her old prep school St Andrew's), logistics and organising William's wardrobe.

"The couple have so far resisted pressure to have a retinue of servants, employing part-time housekeepers in Wales and London, and doing almost all their own cooking and shopping. That will change with the Duchess now pregnant and her helicopter pilot husband deciding whether to quit the RAF and take on more royal duties when his tour of duty ends."

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Should William and Kate choose to become full-time royals, it would seem likely they will then divide their time between Kensington Palace, Bucklebury (with the Middletons) and possibly spend weekends at a country home. According to numerous media reports, the Queen is planning to gift the couple a beautiful country house on the Sandringham estate.

Anmer Hall

Anmer Hall has been part of the royal estate since 1898 and is situated two miles east from the Queen's residence at Sandringham. The Grade II listed Georgian house was leased by the Duke and Duchess of Kent as their country house from 1972 until 1990. As a child, Prince William spent days exploring the estate with friends and would have many fond memories there.

AnmerHall

It would seem the perfect choice apart from the fact it currently leased by the Everett family, owners of the kitchen and timber company Norfolk Oak. I expect it will be for the Cambridges use once the current leasee leaves. It had been thought the Queen would give one of her Sandringham cottages to the couple to mark William's 30th birthday and it has emerged Anmer Hall is the one Her Majesty has chosen.

Anmer Hall

What do you think of Anmer Hall as a country retreat for the Cambridges? I think it's a beautiful property and perfect for little ones :)

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Kate's influence as a style icon seems to be increasing all the time with the iconic British Vogue setting itself the task of analysing ever outfit, shoe and accessory to divide the vital statistics of Kate's style. Having looked through thousands of pictures writer Lisa Armstrong probed Kate's designers to find her favourite neckline, sleeve length and silhouette, the secret of her smile and how she might adapt McQueen as maternity wear. Vogue are calling their findings 'Katepedia: A Study in Royal Style' and the piece promises to include dazzling photos.

All of this and much more will be included in the magazine's February issue which goes on sale from Wednesday January 9.

British Vogue

See you all Wednesday for a special post to mark Kate's 31st birthday :)

27 comments:

Anmer Hall is stunning from the outside, with windows and dormers which are fascinatingly asymmetrical. Really wish I could peek inside. They will definitely need more staff! And I really wish I knew where to buy British Vogue here in the states. Somebody did a lot of research. Thanks, Charlotte, once again for bringing us all the news....first!

Charlotte you're the best! A beautiful blog to keep us updated regarding our Duchess. Hope that she doesn't need to recover her illness. Maybe, being on second trimester, she should feel better, agree? Hope to hear any news by wednesday! All the best from italy

Charlotte you're seriously the best!I had questions about the Princes' Trust Ball,is this event open to the general public or to the Armed forces personnel only? Also, will this event be covered by the media? Will the Queen attend it also?Sorry for the many questions but I'm just curious :)xoxo

Here's a link to the Prince's Trust website. http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/ The Queen won't attend as far as I know, some celebrities might, from British tv and of course Prince Charles himself. We should see a few pics :)

Oh, thank goodness for a bit of news! I was having Kate withdrawal and everything in this post is good news to me. If Kate is able to help plan a meal perhaps the nausea as abated some as food smells can be a great trigger. And that "house" is wonderful although, to me, it looks as big as an apartment complex. What ever Kate and William decide I will be happy with as I guess that have thought every single thing through and have the interest of their child in the forefront of their plans. Thanks Charlotte! This just made my day.

Charlotte, your very welcome post piqued my interest in a couple of things that I hope you won't consider "off-subject." 1)What does being a Grade II Listed building mean? How does that designation differ from a Grade I or a Grade III? What are some other well-known Grade II's? 2)Didn't Diana and her family live somewhere at Sandringham before her father became Earl? 3) Do you have any idea how we in the US could obtain a copy of the English Vogue? How I long to read the Catherine fashion article! I'd be happy to pay the postage and customs--whatever!

Wouldn't it be great to see William and Kate for the Valentine's Day dinner? She would surely have a baby bump by then covered with a beautiful gown! Here's to wishing! Maybe the illness is slowly fading as she is in her second trimester. Can't imagine her tasting a variety of foods with all day long sickness. Wonder what she'll choose? :)

I first read about the Queen gifting Anmer Hall to William and Kate a couple days ago. I love it! An absolutely beautiful home! It would be a beautiful getaway and looks like lots of land for little ones to explore and roam. Makes me wish for a stately home in the English countryside!

Does anyone know if there's a way to get British Vogue here in the US? Would love to see all of Kate's looks together on one page. Looks like a great story and write-up!

Charlotte, thanks for the post! Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for Kate's big day tomorrow!

Thank you for your lovely comments! It's great to have some news while we're not seeing much of the couple and as I mentioned I have a number of posts in the planning to tide us over, this quiet patch :)

Anmer Hall is beautiful, what a lovely place to spend your free time and ideal for children.

Getting off subject a little, I saw some articles on the web about some journalist/editors have claimed that Kate is faking her pregnancy and also about Kate having a surrogate mother for her baby. I just laughed out loud when I read them. I just can't believe what lengths the media will go just to get or write a story. How can they even think that Kate would fake her pregnancy and she is in hiding because doesn't want anyone to find out about the surrogatcy. They think just because Kate was older when she got married means that she also would have a hard time conceiving because of her age. I don't find that true at all because I got married when I was 33, had a baby at 35 and close to 37 when I had my second and had not fertility problems. I guess it must have been a slow newsday and the media writing trash again.

I think what the media is saying about teh Duchess faking her pregancy is terrible. This is just crap they are writing because William is protecting his Duchess from all these mad media people. She does not need all the stress the media can give.

Anonymous I also read stories talking about it, saying that kate was faking the pregnancy and that she and William turned to a surrogate mother. I have nothing against someone who can not have children resort to a surrogate mother to realize the dream of having a child, but in the case of William and Kate do not know if this option is feasible, because a procedure has never been used by any member of the royal family. Moreover, St. James Palace made ​​an official statement saying that the Duchess was expecting a baby and had been hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum, so if it was a lie, sooner or later all this history would be discovered and become a scandal. Finally, pregnancy is something that can not be hidden and I believe that soon we will see the Duchess's baby bump.

Anonymous I also read stories talking about it, saying that kate was faking the pregnancy and that she and William turned to a surrogate mother. I have nothing against someone who can not have children resort to a surrogate mother to realize the dream of having a child, but in the case of William and Kate do not know if this option is feasible, because a procedure has never been used by any member of the royal family. Moreover, St. James Palace made ​​an official statement saying that the Duchess was expecting a baby and had been hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum, so if it was a lie, sooner or later all this history would be discovered and become a scandal. Finally, pregnancy is something that can not be hidden and I believe that soon we will see the Duchess's baby bump.

Well I think Anmer Hall is a lovely choice. I'm partial to the Georgian style. Hope they don't turn that down. Just hope if they take it , it has lots of privacy. I think Prince Charles would be great at helping them to add some lovely landscape. (Trees please to block all those cameras ) It just needs a few children, horses,sheep,and dogs running around lots of dogs to bite photographers legs. Ha

Sarah, you make me laugh! Dogs to bite photographer's legs...LOL!!! I watched a special on Highclere Castle on Sunday and thought of you. All these lovely homes and castles. **sigh** I was overly eager in my post yesterday about Kate's birthday and jumped ahead a day. NOW to wait one more day....

Kate I checked out Highclere Castle (You Tube) wow, the library is awesome would love to check out the books and the paintings. Can't blame you for being overly excited Kate is special.They are a special couple.

Dear Charlotte thank you for this great post. I'm excited for British vogue. Hope Kate is feeling better what an exciting time in her life. They are trying to decide now about future royals marrying catholics and still being able to ascend the throne and having first born females rule. I hope both of these come into fruition.

Charlotte- Another great post. I sure miss seeing our Duchess. I am sure having withdrawals.I jsut hope she is feeling better and we will get to see her out & about soon.

I thought I read where William was going to buy his Duchess for her 31st birthday a country home. Now we are hearing where the Queen is going to give them a home. I would think William would like to give his wife a home they can call their own. Or maybe they will have both. The Queen was to give him a country home for his 30th birthday so again maybe this home will be for his 30th birthday (last year).

I can not wait until we get to see the Duchess's baby bump. I am really getting tired of hearing about KimK's here in the states.

Looking forward to the Vogue magazine. However, with what I read they broke up creme, nude, greys and whites. These are all kind of the same for me. So the number of her palette goes from blue being the highest to just a washed out color. I don't now why she dislikes patterns so much.

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